This invention is concerned with a mould opening and closing mechanism for use in a glassware container manufacturing machine, the mechanism being operable to move a plurality of mould portions between mould open and mould closed positions thereof, each mould portion being mounted on a mould portion carrier which is mounted for pivotal movement about a vertically-extending axis.
In glassware container manufacturing machines of the so-called individual section type, mould portion carriers are mounted for pivotal movement about a vertically-extending axis and are moved about said axis by a mould opening and closing mechanism. The mechanism comprises a shaft associated with each mould portion carrier and mounted for turning movement about a vertically-extending longitudinal axis of the shaft, an arm fixed to and projecting from each shaft, a connection between each arm and its associated mould portion carrier such that, when the shaft is turned about its longitudinal axis, the mould portion carrier is pivoted about its axis, and turning means operable to turn the shafts about their respective axes. The turning means comprises a piston and cylinder assembly of large diameter operable to turn a bell crank which is connected to arms projecting from the shafts so that operation of the assembly causes two shafts to turn in opposite directions about their respective axes to move the mould portion carriers.
A recent innovation in glassware container manufacturing machines of the individual type is a machine in which glass parisons are formed in a parison forming mould and are transferred to one of two further moulds mounted on a turntable in which the parisons are blown into containers. The turntable is arranged to turn about a vertical axis to bring the moulds mounted thereon successively to a parison receiving position. In this type of machine, difficulty is experienced in fitting conventional mould opening and closing mechanisms as described above for two pairs of mould carriers on to the turntable because of the bulk of the mechanism.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an opening and closing mechanism which is less bulky than the conventional mechanism described above.